Need help

We would like to spent 7 to 8 days out of Tokyo and stay 1 to 2 days in these places (nikko, hakone, matsumoto, kanazawa, shirakawa-go, takayama). After in which back to Tokyo for the rest of the trip.

Anyone able to guide whether how should we go about traveling to these places and whether would it be better to get JR passes for 7 days.

Comments

Hi,You could take a week and go from Tokyo to Matsumoto, Kanazawa, Shirakawago, and back to Tokyo from Takayama. Shirakawago access is by bus only though, and is not covered by the JR Pass. You would barely break even on a pass with those plans.You could then go see Hakone from Tokyo with an Odakyu Hakone Free Pass and see Nikko on a Tobu Nikko Free Pass.

Depending on the arrival time, I would go to Nikko directly from the airport. I would go to Kanazawa directly from Nikko, not getting back to the central Tokyo. I would go to Matsumoto directly from Takayama. I would go to Odawara, not stopping at Shinjuku. If you want more nights in Tokyo, just drop some, as you suggested for Hakone. I might steal one night each from Matsumoto and Hakone to make four nights for Tokyo.

These are average peak dates for the autumn foliage in Nikko.10.3 Nikko/Senjogahara, Ryuzu no taki10.10 Nikko/Yudaki, Yumoto10.15 Nikko/Chuzenjiko, Kegon no taki10.20 Nikko/Kirifuri Kogen10.22 Nikko/Irohazaka11.1 Nikko/Kirifuri no taki11.2 Nikko/Rinnoji11.7 Nikko/Toshogu, Futarasan

You come to Nikko rather late. On a conservative side, you could just buy a Kirifuri falls Free Pass (600 yen). In that case, you may not need two nights in Nikko. For a challenge, you may consider Kirifuri Kogen Free Pass (1200 yen) and/or Chuzenji Onsen Free Pass (2000 yen). Other expensive passes might be a waste of money.http://www.tobu-bus.com/en/nikko/

On the contrary, there would be no concern in buying a Hakone Free Pass at Shinjuku. Only going and back would take 874 yen * 2, larger than the difference between a pass from Odawara (4000 yen) and the Shinjuku one (5140 yen).https://www.odakyu.jp/english/passes/hakone/

Hi,As it shows the bus routes on the page link:http://www.tobu-bus.com/en/nikko/pdf/nikko_en_4.pdf?201708And as you said, if you choose the bus rides, then you don't need the pass.The bus from Matsumoto is certainly cheaper - but it does take at least 30 minutes longer. Not a big issue for most, but if time is critical then the train may be a better option.

Japan Rail Pass has a merit to use Shinkansen trains multiple times. If you take the following route, you could ride a Shinkansen five times; Ueno-Utsunomiya, Utsunomiya-Nagano, Nagano-Kanazawa, Nagoya-Odawara, and Odawara-Tokyo. Actually, Hakone would be at the peak of Koyo in early November.

AsakusaNikkoMatsumotoKanazawaShirakawa-goTakayamaHakoneTokyo

I could read some other places expected to be at the peak of Koyo in early November in the Jorudan database.

I should have taken into the duration of the travel. If you take the following train-intensive itinerary and use the pass from Nikko to Hakone, you could gain some money by a Japan Rail Pass 7 days ordinary type costing 29110 yen.http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/about_jrp.html#bm_002